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Saturday, 1 June 2013

Kent Roadrunner marathon

17 laps of Cyclopark in Kent for a marathon. This one was billed as a PB course and, wanting to improve on my PB from Telford earlier in the year, I went for it. It wasn't to be though.

The 2.5km lap of smooth tarmac did make Kent Roadrunner a fast course, but the circuit is exposed, alongside the A2, with a wind blowing the length of the course. I never really managed to tuck in behind anyone to get out of the wind. And the home straight was up a hill, barely noticeable on the first few laps but in the second half of the race I saw more and more runners resorting to walking, and walking longer stretches of it, as the race wore on.

I went out deliberately fast to see if a PB was on, passing halfway in 1:45, but the wind and hill wore me down, and the weather, alternating between cloud cover and direct sun, was a little too warm for a fast time. In the end I finished in 3:47:56, my second fastest marathon time.

A huge medal

Great to have personal drinks tables though, and a well supported official drinks table on a different part of the course, as it means you are never more than a few minutes from a drink. Good organisation overall, but only one if you like laps.